Companion: Deep Study
A condensed companion to the full study. For each section of the expanded outline: key insights, applications, and the application questions for discussion.
Section 1 — The Kings Whose Hearts Melted (Joshua 5:1)
Key Insights
- The report of the Jordan crossing reached every king in Canaan, from the hill country to the coast.
- Their hearts melted, fulfilling the LORD’s promise to send His terror before Israel (Exodus 23:27).
- Fear is not faith: the kings lost their courage but kept their hard hearts.
- Rahab heard the same news and turned to the LORD, so the difference was grace (Joshua 2:11).
- Christ has already disarmed the powers, so the church fights a defeated enemy (Colossians 2:15).
Applications
- Face opposition by remembering what the Lord has already done rather than rehearsing the enemy’s strength.
- When God’s power alarms you, run toward Him in faith rather than away from Him (Acts 16:30).
- Thank God for unseen protection that guards the obedience He requires.
Application Questions
- When God’s power has confronted me through His Word or His providence, has my response been the melting of the kings, fear that hardens, or the melting of Rahab, fear that turns to faith?
- What past deliverance, what Jordan the Lord has already carried me through, should I be remembering when new opposition appears?
Section 2 — Flint Knives at Gibeath-haaraloth (Joshua 5:2–3)
Key Insights
- The LORD commanded circumcision at the most dangerous moment, just after entering enemy territory.
- Grace comes first: the LORD gave the land before He asked for the covenant sign (Genesis 17:8).
- A second time means Israel was restored to being a circumcised people, not that men were circumcised twice.
- Joshua’s name is the Hebrew form of Jesus, who gives the circumcision of the heart (Colossians 2:11).
- The flint knives point to Christ, who was cut off for His people so they could receive the covenant blessing.
Applications
- Keep God’s means of grace at the center of your life, especially in urgent seasons.
- Live in light of your baptism by putting off the old self (Colossians 3:5).
- Outward signs never save without faith, and no one should seek circumcision as a Christian duty.
Application Questions
- Is there a clear command of God that I have postponed because obeying it would leave me feeling weak, exposed, or inconvenienced?
- How am I living in light of the covenant sign God has placed on me in baptism?
Section 3 — A Faithless Generation and the Children Raised in Their Place (Joshua 5:4–7)
Key Insights
- The men who left Egypt died in the wilderness “because they did not obey the voice of the LORD” (Joshua 5:6).
- The omission of circumcision in the wilderness was most likely a sign of God’s judgment on the Kadesh generation.
- Even under judgment God kept feeding and leading His people with the manna and the cloud.
- God raised up their children in their place, keeping His promise to the next generation (Numbers 14:31).
- Christ is the faithful Son who passed the wilderness test that Israel failed (Matthew 4:4).
Applications
- Outward privilege never replaces a believing heart (Hebrews 3:19).
- God’s grace is not bound by a family’s history, and parents’ example shapes their children for years.
- Children may bear consequences of their parents’ sins, but never their parents’ guilt before God.
Application Questions
- In what area of my life am I refusing to obey the voice of the LORD, and so choosing a wilderness life rather than the rest He offers?
- How does God’s raising up a new generation in place of the old (v. 7) give me hope about my family history or urgency about my own example?
Section 4 — The Reproach of Egypt Rolled Away at Gilgal (Joshua 5:8–9)
Key Insights
- Israel lay helpless while the men healed, and its only defense was the LORD’s promise.
- The LORD declared, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” (Joshua 5:9).
- The reproach was the taunt that God had abandoned His people, and the covenant sign in the land silenced it.
- Gilgal means rolling, a place-name that preserved God’s act for later generations.
- Christ bore the reproach of His people so that theirs could be removed forever (Romans 15:3).
Applications
- Stop carrying shame for sins that Christ has forgiven (Romans 8:1).
- Seasons of weakness spent resting in God’s promise are not wasted.
- Because your true reproach is gone, you can bear the world’s contempt for Christ’s sake (Hebrews 13:13).
Application Questions
- What reproach from my life before Christ, some old shame or accusation, am I still carrying even though the Lord has rolled it away?
- Am I willing to bear the reproach of Christ now, since He has removed the reproach that truly belonged to me?
Section 5 — The Passover Kept and the Manna Ceased (Joshua 5:10–12)
Key Insights
- Israel kept the Passover on the plains of Jericho, the first in the promised land (Joshua 5:10).
- Matthew Henry says that the work likely to end well is the one that begins with God.
- The people ate the produce of the land, tasting the inheritance promised to Abraham.
- The manna ceased the day after, showing that it came from God’s fatherly care and not from nature (Exodus 16:35).
- Christ is the true Passover lamb and the living bread from heaven (John 6:51).
Applications
- Begin every undertaking with worship and God’s appointed means of grace.
- Receive ordinary provision through work, wages, and doctors with the same gratitude as a miracle.
- Examine yourself before the Lord’s Supper as circumcision prepared Israel for the Passover (1 Corinthians 11:28).
Application Questions
- Do I come to the Lord’s Table having examined myself and put away the old leaven, as Israel was circumcised before eating the Passover?
- Am I discontent with God’s ordinary provision, wishing for extraordinary signs when He has given me ordinary means?
Section 6 — The Man with the Drawn Sword (Joshua 5:13–14)
Key Insights
- Joshua met the Lord while doing his duty as a general near Jericho.
- He asked, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” (Joshua 5:13).
- The answer No shows that the Commander does not take sides but takes command.
- The army of the LORD is the heavenly host, fighting for God’s purposes (2 Kings 6:17).
- The Commander accepted worship and is best understood as the pre-incarnate Son of God (Joshua 6:2).
Applications
- Ask what the Lord commands before asking Him to bless your plans (Matthew 26:39).
- Every leader in home, church, and work serves under Christ’s orders.
- Never claim a nation, party, or military cause as the Lord’s army, since Christ’s kingdom advances by Word and Spirit.
Application Questions
- When I pray about my plans and conflicts, do I approach God asking whether He is on my side, or asking what my Lord says to His servant?
- Where do I need to surrender leadership, in my home, church, or work, to the true Commander?
Section 7 — Holy Ground Before Jericho (Joshua 5:15)
Key Insights
- The Commander told Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy” (Joshua 5:15).
- The command repeats the LORD’s words to Moses at the bush, revealing the same Lord (Exodus 3:5).
- Ground is holy only because God is present there, not because of the soil itself.
- Joshua did so, proving himself in small obedience before the great orders of Jericho.
- Christ is present by His Spirit with His gathered people, making every true gathering holy ground (Matthew 18:20).
Applications
- Worship with reverence and awe, remembering that Christ is present (Hebrews 12:28).
- Obey small and humbling commands promptly (Luke 16:10).
- Meet God in His Word and prayer before meeting the day’s battles.
Application Questions
- Does my worship, public and private, reflect that I am standing on holy ground in the presence of Christ?
- When the Lord gives me a small, humbling command, do I simply do it, as Joshua did?
Before a single wall fell, the LORD renewed His covenant, fed His people, and stood before them as their Commander, and in Jesus Christ, our greater Joshua, He does the same for His church today.
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